In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Several other titles have been associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, Presiding High Priest, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator. Joseph Smith was known by all of these titles in his lifetime (although not necessarily with consistency).
Smith died in 1844 without having indisputably established who was to be his successor. Therefore, his death was followed by a succession crisis in which various groups followed leaders with succession claims. Years later, the office of President was reorganized in many of the resulting Latter Day Saint denominations, the largest of which are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite). Some smaller denominations, such as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), reject the office as an unscriptural creation.
Joseph Smith: the first president
The concept that the Church of Christ would have a single presiding officer arose in late 1831. Initially, after the church's formation on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith referred to himself as merely "an apostle of Jesus Christ, and elder of the church." However, there was one other apostle—Oliver Cowdery—and several other elders of the church, making the formal hierarchy of the church unclear.
In September 1830, after Hiram Page claimed to have received revelations for the church, a revelation to Smith stated that "no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses." This established Smith's exclusive right to lead the church.
In early June 1831, Smith was ordained to the "high priesthood", along with twenty-two other men, including prominent figures in the Latter Day Saint movement such as Hyrum Smith, Parley P. Pratt, and Martin Harris. As "high priests", these men were higher in the priesthood hierarchy than the elders of the church. However, it was still unclear whether Smith and Cowdery's calling as apostles gave them superior authority than that of other high priests.
On November 11, 1831, a revelation to Smith stated that "it must needs be that one be appointed of the high priesthood to preside over the Priesthood and he shall be called President of the high priesthood of the Church ... and again the duty of the President of the high priesthood is to preside over the whole church." Smith was ordained to this position and sustained by the church on January 25, 1832, at a conference in Amherst, Ohio.
In 1835, the Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ were revised, changing the phrase "an ... elder of the church" to "the first elder of this Church." Thus, subsequent to 1835, Smith was sometimes referred to as the First Elder of the church. The 1835 revision also added a verse referring to the office of "president of the high priesthood (or presiding elder)", which had since been added to the church hierarchy.
Removal
Though there has never been a popular movement in the church to have a president removed or punished, he could theoretically be removed from his position or otherwise disciplined by the Common Council of the Church. The only president of the church brought before the Common Council was Joseph Smith, who was tried for charges made against him by Sylvester Smith after the return of Zion's Camp in 1834. The Council determined that Joseph Smith had "acted in every respect in an honorable and proper manner with all monies and properties entrusted to his charge."